Cushion insole



Aug. 24 1926 c. COONEY CUSHION INSOLE Filed March 1925 //W[/V70/?. CHARL5 COO/VD Patented Aug. 24, 1926.

UNITED STATES,

CHARLES COQN'EY, F TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

CUSHION INSOLE.

Application filed March 24, 1925. Serial No. 18,016.

My invention relates to'improvements in cushion insoles, and the objectof the invention is to devise an insole for a boot or shoe which willform a support for the foot, which will have a maximum resilience andthereby render the boot or shoe far more comfortable to the wearer andgiving a maximum ease to the feet, and at the same time dispensin withall rubber cushions secured exteriorl y to the sole or heel of the bootor shoe, and it consists essentially of the arrangement andconstruction'of arts as hereinafter more particularly explamed.

Fig. 1 .is a plan view of my insole, the

upper wall being broken away to exhibit the interior construction thereoFig. 2 is a longitudinal section through Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section through Fig. 1.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in each figure.

1 indicates the body of the insole which I is formed of soft rubberthrough which are scattered cells in closely adjacent overlappingposition. The upper and lower surfaces of the body 1 is recessed in itsupper and lower face as indicated at 2, so as to leave a surroundingwall 3 the full thickness of the body 1 and a thin web or diaphragm 4supported by the surrounding wall 3 intermediately of its height as willbe clearly seen in Figure 2.

5 are a series of diagonally extending cross ribs provided with fiatupper faces and spaced equal distances apart. The ribs 5 are located inthe recessed portions 2 above and below. The upper horizontal faces ofthe ribs 5 are flush with the horizontal faces of the wall 3. The ribs 5are sufficiently close together and to the surrounding wall 3 to formpractically a continuous supporting surface for the foot.

6 and 7 are sheets of flexible material preferably of rubberized fabricwhich are cemented to the upper and lower faces of the wall 3 andcorresponding faces of the ribs 5.

8 are perforations formed in the diaphragm 4 prefer-ably between theribs 5 so as to permit the free circulation of air from between the ribson one face of the insole to between the ribs on the other face of theinsole.

9 is an air inlet tube preferably extending through the wall 3 in theheel portion of the insole, the inner' end of the tube being contractedtogether in a flat form normally held closed and only opened by theforcing of air therethrough. By this means a nonreturn,.valve isprovided.

By'using' my insole the air is forced through the tube 9'so as to fillall the space between the surrounding wall 3 and the ribs 5 and betweenthe ribs themselves. Such air expanding outward against'the flexiblewalls 6 and 7 between the ribs 5, thereby increasing the resilience ofthe insole, and also the softness and cushion effect produced upon thefoot ofthe user when treading thereon.

It will of course be understood that my insole may be either slippedinto the boot by the wearer or the boot so built that my cushion insoleis recessed thereinto so as to permanently form a part of the boot.

If desired the insole may be used without inflating'it with the air, theperforations being formed in the flexible covers 6 and 7 so as to.permit the free circulation of air therethrough,

It will also be understood that the cross ribs 5 not only serve to formair ducts, but

i being themselves narrow wall portions carrying the weight of the footspread easily under the pressure of the foot and thereby increase theeffect of softness and comfort to the wearer.

By reason of the cellular structure of the insole the yielding movementto the weight of the foot is quickly and evenly distributed so that thesurface carrying the weight of the foot conforms exactly to the shape ofthe foot increasing the comfort of the wearer to a maximum. Further thecellular structure also serves to prevent heat conduction and therebyimpart greater comfort to the wearer. The recess construction. providedwith cross ribs also further adds to the resilience and easy yielding ofthe insole to the foot permitting the rib portions to spread under theWeight of the foot and thereby increase the cushioning efi'ect.

What I claim as my invention is A cushion insole adapted to fit a bootor 5 shoe and formed of resilient material through which are scattered amultiplicity of independent cells located at difi'erent planes so as toform numerous dead air recesses in both faces of the insole, and acovering of material impervious to air secured to each face of the1nso1e to extend over such recess.

CHARLES COONEY.

